West Bay, Dorset

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East Cliff

West Bay, formerly known as Bridport Harbour, is situated approximately two miles from the centre of Bridport on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, England.

It has a fairly small harbour, two piers and two beaches. The east beach is part of the Chesil Beach. West Bay and Chesil Beach make up part of the Jurassic Coast world heritage site, a title that has been much vaunted locally since it was conferred by UNESCO on the beautiful and varied geography of the southern coast.

Records of West Bay's harbour history can be traced back to the 13th Century when sluices were constructed across the mouth of the River Brit to form a navigable entrance. The Great Western Railway reached Bridport in 1857, resulting in the decline of Bridport Harbour and its renaming as West Bay. Local business men including the archaeologist Augustus Pitt Rivers and the Earl of Ilchester funded an extension to the harbour, which was completed by 1883. Subsequently they established the West Bay Building Company to build villas and lodging houses for visitors. Only a terrace of 10 lodging houses was completed, designed by the Arts and Crafts Movement architect Edward Schroeder Prior in 1885. The terrace remains a prominent feature of the harbourside.

Construction work has recently finished to replace the west pier and rebuild the east pier. The new west pier has been named the Jurassic Pier. This is part of a new coastal defense scheme and also extends the facilities of the harbour with a new slip way and outer harbour. After the construction work, a small regeneration scheme is in operation, with new housing being planned around the harbour area.

This is due to the rough weather during the winter, with a high tide coinciding with westerly gales and high rainfall causing, in 1974, the entire bay area to flood.

West Bay as Bridehaven in BBC Harbour Lights

Tourism in West Bay near Bridport

West Bay was also the location of a television series by the BBC called Harbour Lights, which aired in 1999 and 2000 and starred Nick Berry. In addition, the beach was used in the introduction to the BBC television series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

West Bay has a number of local caravan and camping sites, as well as hotels and B&Bs both in the bay and in surrounding villages such as Burton Bradstock.

There is also the Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club situated on top of the east cliff (in the photograph) just a short walk from West Bay with a full 18-hole course and 9-hole "pitch and putt" course in the summer season.

There are lots of fishing trips available in the summer, including deep sea fishing. Boats can also be hired to row up the River Brit towards Bridport.

The bay has a number of kiosks, serving traditional fish and chips, often with locally caught fish. There are also a few pubs, cafés, and restaurants, the most notable of which is the Riverside Restaurant, which has been voted one of The Observer's Top 10 Seafood Restaurants.